Street-railway car.



No. 634,234. Patented Oct. 3, I899. J. w. EVANS.

STREET RAILWAY CAR.

(Application filed Apr. 24, 1B98 No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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Patented Oct. 3, I899.

J. W. EVANS. STREET RAILWAY CAB.

(Application filed Apr. 24, 1899.1

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JOSEPH \V. EVANS, OF NEWVBURYPORT, lYIASSAOHUSETTS.

STREET-RAILWAY CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,234, dated October 3, 1899.

Application filed April 24:, 1899. Serial No. 714,226. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be'it known that I, JOSEPH W. EVANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newburyport, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of streetrailway cars commonly known as open cars or summer cars. In cars ofthis description it is customary to provide curtains or shades, made usually of canvas or some other textile material, such shades being located at the sides of the car for the purpose of protecting the passengers from the sun and rain. These shades comm only extend, when lowered, from the roof down to the seats, or approximately thereto, thus leaving a space through which the rain can drive into the car. In some instances, however, the curtains extend nearly or quite to the level of the floor outside the seat ends. Thus the rain is prevented from driving into the car; but the curtains being outside cover the grab-irons on the seat ends and prevent either the conductor or any passengers who may be on the running-board from using them. Moreover, a full-length curtain in such a position is liable to flap in the wind, and renders the use of the running-board unpleasant and dangerous.

In my invention or improvement I provide a construction whereby the side curtains or shades can run freely up and down inside the grab-irons on the seat ends and can when lowered to their full extent reach the fioor of the car within or inside the seat ends, thus leaving the frames and panels of the seats, as well as the grab-irons thereon, free and accessible to the conductor or any passengers who may be on the running-board, whether the curtains are raised or lowered.

In carrying out my invention I have applied it to a car of a type illustrated in the Letters Patent of the United States granted to me May 1, 1888, and numbered 381,918, to which reference is made.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure l is a side view showing a sufficient portion of a street-railway car embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on lines X in Figs. 1 and 2. 1

a represents the floor of the car; b, the running-board; c, the roof; d, the swiveled seatbacks; e, the panels, and f the frames, constituting the seat ends; g, the grab-irons, and h'the seats.

A A represent the posts. These posts extend from the roof of the car down to the floor and are curved inward, as shown at A, and have seen red to their outer surfaces theframes fof the seat ends, the panels 6 conforming to the portions A of the posts. Secured to each post, next its inner side, is a casting B, which supports the end of the seat h. The seat-backs d are also swiveled to the inner sides of the posts. It will be seen, therefore, that the seats and seat-backs are inside the posts, as is also the case with the seat-partitions Z,while the panels 6, frames f, and grabirons g are outside the post or next the outer surface thereof. This leaves a continuous space from the floor of the car up between the seats and the seat ends, and within this space the posts are provided with grooves 0. (See Fig. 3.) These grooves are for the purpose of guiding the curtains or shades D, which are secured to suitable spring-fixtures arranged in the posts near the roof of the car. Each of these curtains D is made, preferably, of textile fabric and is provided with horizontal cross-pieces or stretchers E, which extend into and run in the grooves O, as indicated in full and in broken lines in Fig. 3. The bottom of the curtain is provided with a bar F, Fig. 1, of suitable weight. When this curtain is lowered, as illustrated in the drawings, it occupies all the space between the two posts and between the roof and the floor of the car, its edges following the grooves C and lying between the panels 6, frame f, and grab-irons g on the outside and the seats h, seat-backs d, and seat-partitions Z on the inside Without interfering with any of the said parts, the space between the inside parts and outside parts being amply sufficient. Thus the passengers are absolutely protected from the elements, as there is no space either at the'sides or bottom of the curtain for the admission of rain. The curtain is prevented from flapping, and the seats can be reversed without interfering with the curtain. On the outside the conductor is free to move along the running-board and sustain himself by means of the grab-ironsg or the grab-irons n on the posts without being interfered with by the curtain.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a street-railway car of the character described, a curtain or shade running vertically between the roof and the floor of the car and extending when lowered substantially to said floor, said curtain or shade running in a path which is within or behind the seat ends, substantially as set forth.

2. In a street-railway car of the character described, a curtain or shade running vertically between the roof and the floor of the car and between two posts thereof and extending when lowered substantially to said floor and filling the space bounded by said posts, roof and floor, said curtain or shade running in a path which is within or behind the seat ends, substantially as described.

3. In a street-railway car of the character described, seat ends and seats as h separated from each other by an approximately vertical space; and curtains or shades running substantially vertically between the floor of the ear and between the said seat ends and seats, substantially as set forth.

I. In a street-railway car of the character described, seat ends and seats as h separated from each other by an approximately vertical space; posts extending from the roof to the floor between said seat ends and seats and provided with means for guiding the curtains or shades; and curtains or shades running vertically between and guided by said posts and extending when lowered between said seat ends and seats, substantially as described.

5. In a street-railway car of the character described, the posts A provided on their inner sides with the grooves C; the seats h supported at their ends by said posts; the seat ends 6, f on the outer sides of said posts, the ends of said seats h being sufficiently within and at a distance from said seat ends to provide aspace wide enough to allowa curtain or shade to move substantially vertically therein; and a curtain or shade running substantially vertically between the roof of the car and between said seats and seat ends, and guided by the grooves in the posts, substantially as set forth.

JOSEPH XV. EVANS.

Witnesses:

HENRY \V. WVILLIAMs, A. G. BoNNEY. 

